Understanding History Make Up Quiz!

Directions: Read the passage below. Use the information in the passage and the information discussed in class to answer the essay question.

Those Who Do Not Learn From History . . .

The results of American Revolution (1775-1783), should have provided many valuable historical lessons. At the start of the war, the English had many advantages. These included a large well trained army, the world’s finest navy, support from loyalists in the colonies, and vast financial resources. The Americans had poorly trained soldiers, almost no navy, and little money to fight a war. Most people assumed that the British would easily win the war.

To spite these overwhelming odds, America was able to defeat the British win their independence. The Americans had better leaders such as George Washington and superior weapons such as the rifle. England was very far away and had help from the French. The war also became very unpopular in England, as more and more British soldiers died. Most significantly, Americans were motivated to fight because they were fighting for their freedom. This war proved that in some cases a large powerful nation could be defeated by a weaker enemy.

Two hundred years later in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, these lessons were not learned during the Vietnam War. The United States by then was a very powerful country. It had a large well trained army and vast resources, but the war soon became unpopular in the United States. Yet, in the end, the United States was defeated by an enemy which had better leaders, superior weapons, powerful friends, and who fought for their independence. During the Vietnam War, the United States ignored the lessons of the American Revolution and was unsuccessful.

Just a few years latter during the 1980’s, another very powerful nation call the USSR (Russia) suffered the same type of defeat. The USSR was a very powerful nation that invaded it weaker neighbor Afghanistan. Even thought the USSR had the world’s largest army and resources, the Afghans had superior leaders, better weapons, powerful friends, and were fighting for their homeland. Soon the Russian people wanted to bring their soldiers home as more and more Russian soldiers were killed. Once again, the lessons of the American Revolution were not learned and the Russians were defeated.

Directions: Based on the passage above and the material discussed in class, write an essay which answers the question below. Be sure to use examples from the passage above and from classroom discussions. Your essay should contain a topic sentence, at least three supporting details, and a conclusion. Place your essay in the box below an press submit!

Essay Question:

Why is it important to study History? As students, how might your knowledge of History play a role in the future?